We have no laws against hanging out the laundry here. If fact our neighbor behind us has a clothesline, but they have a dryer along with most other people. That's because for about 5 months of the year it's too cold to hang it outside, unless of course you don't mind freeze drying your clothes.

We don't own a dryer but it is very rare that our washing line is empty I agree that the sight of a full washing line is nice to see.

I mostly use the dryer these days and hang delicates inside, but when I had a big family at home I used to hang things on clothes hangers on the spokes of the large patio umbrella. The sun wreaks havoc on fabrics and colors. After having a few things fade or get streaks on them (or bird droppings ), I always dry in the shade - the breeze is enough to do the job.

I use the clothesline when it's nice outside. The only downside is when I'm gone and it starts to rain. A clothesline is like a wood burning fireplace around here, everyone has one.

The other thing I forgot to say in an earlier post is that we air everything in from of the wood fire at night over winter... but I suppose wood burning fires would be outlawed in a lot of places along with the clothes lines ?

When I lived in Colombia, we had a little room with a washstand for washing clothes by hand a small washer and clothes lines set up indoors (we lived in a condo on the 7th floor). There was a good breeze and our clothes dried quickly. Many apartments are built with having a laundry area in mind, and they are quite efficient about it. Almost no one has a dryer.

In the US it is a different story, we would be able to hang out wash here if we wanted to (no rules against it), but we don't have a backyard that would allow us to do so. I do hang some items up in the laundry area of my house, but we have a dryer for the heavier and more often used items. I can't bring myself to hang the laundry in the front yard, which would be the only other option.

So, a slight divergence of topic, but still pretty close - I see a lot of you use the umbrella-type lines for your washing. Do you like them, or is it a case of "better than nothing"? I find that since the wind can't really catch the clothes, they tend to be quite stiff when dried. I like a long washline much better, but it's a lot more difficult to string one.

The umbrella types we'd call a 'Hills Hoist' here. They're so iconic that they featured in the oening ceremony to the 2000 Sydney Olympics LOL but as backyards are getting smaller and smaller lots are going with the retractable string ones.

It's a shame as they're losing a good fielder in a game of backyard cricket ...

I wonder what public offical would want to embarass themself by even voting in thier district for a ban on hanging laundry out to dry...egads were I live you have tons of stuff f-a-r more important to deal with the list is many,shamefully I live in the same state